1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to an illuminated carrier for holding small items such as treats and more specifically to a carrier which illuminates internally as well as the ground underneath the carrier. The internal and external illumination is accomplished with a single light source.
2. Description of Related Art
Trick-or-treating is a popular activity by young children on the Halloween holiday. Generally, the children carry a bag or a bucket-shaped carrier called a "jack-o-lantern" to hold the treats they collect by going door to door in their neighborhood. This activity commonly occurs near or after sunset, which makes it difficult to see the child. Since the children often have to cross streets, there is a significant risk that the child may be struck and injured by an automobile. The darkness also poses an additional risk of the child falling when walking over uneven ground.
To increase their safety, children often wear reflective clothing to make them more visible or carry a flashlight to light their path. While this does reduce the risk, there are some inherent disadvantages. The reflective clothing only covers certain portions of the child's body and unless the lights of the automobile hit the child in the right manner there's a probability that the child will not been seen. The flashlight however, does not increase the child's visibility unless the child is walking directly toward the automobile. The flashlight may also be problematic for smaller children who will have a hard time managing both the flashlight and their carrier.
Various jack-o-lantern's have been proposed to increase the visibility of the child. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,802,071 describes a carrier having a light source built into the top of the carrier. When the light is turned on, the inside of the carrier is illuminated. Since the carrier is made from a translucent material, a portion of the light will pass through the carrier making it glow. The glowing carrier thus makes the child more visible from all directions.
The U.S. Pat. No. 5,597,230 describes a carrier having light sources built into the "eyes" of the jack-o-lantern. When the light source is turned on, the decorative eyes of the carrier act like flashlights to light the path for the child. While this invention does solve the problem of the child having to handle both a carrier and a flashlight, it does not make the child any more visible from the rear or side directions.
Accordingly, it is considered advantageous to have a jack-o-lantern carrier that can both illuminate the carrier internally and the path below the child. It is also considered advantageous to have this illumination created by a single light source to ease assembly and reduce manufacturing costs.